3 Benefits of Using B2B Marketing Automation

Unless you’ve been living under a rock – a very big rock, one big enough to block WiFi – you’ll be well aware of marketing automation software. Perhaps not aware enough to be on first name terms with your automation software supplier, but only because you’ve yet to make that step. It’s been on your list of things to do though: #15 Set up digital marketing automation, right after #14: Clean out your desk drawers. But that’s the thing about lengthy and well-intentioned to-do lists: they invariably stay that way.

Well, today we’re going to discuss a few facts that might just cause you to rethink your priorities. The messy desk drawers can wait; sure, they’re annoying but they’re not impacting upon your revenue. The failure to integrate inbound marketing automation on the other hand? Now that’s a task that’s screaming out to be done. Preferably yesterday, but failing that today. Setting it up may take a little work and brainpower, but your business is presumably brimming with marketers blessed with the time and skills to do both. Put your best talent on the case, because that’s one of the first things to know about B2B marketing automation: if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.

Marketing automation for small business – why?

Why should your business concern itself with SMB marketing automation? If the methods you’ve been using up until now have been bearing fruit, why should you meddle with a winning formula? Why should you pull key staff away from the profitable tasks they’re focused on to meddle with something that will require time and effort? Well, there are many persuasive arguments in favour of inbound marketing automation, but the most persuasive of all comes from the facts. We may be living in a ‘post-truth’ world, but there are some truths which simply can’t be spun.

80% of companies who’ve switched to online marketing automation have recorded more leads. 77% of those have reported more conversions. Businesses that adopt marketing automation software notice an upturn in revenue of between 20% and 50%. Those figures all come from a VentureBeat survey, and they’re the sorts of numbers that can’t be easily ignored.

The other reason why small businesses may be dragging their heels when it comes to B2B marketing automation is cost. There appears to be an assumption that marketing automation tools are going to be expensive; that there’s no such thing as SMB marketing automation because SMBs can’t afford it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Like cloud storage and SaaS and other enterprise solutions that were initially within the reach of corporations only, low cost marketing automation is now accessible to all. Not only is affordable marketing automation possible – it’s now the norm. Thanks to the arrival of cheap or even free marketing automation, there’s never been a better time to take the plunge and set up automated marketing sequences. But don’t do it because it’s cheap – do it for one of the following reasons.

Marketing automation enhances the client experience

Just as we are all at different stages on our passage through life, business prospects are at different stages on their buying journey. You wouldn’t present a sales pitch to a newborn baby, so why would you attempt to do the same with a new prospect? For someone who’s just visited your site for the first time, or perhaps signed up for your newsletter, it’s way too early to start closing them. The sales stuff can come later – way later. First you’ve got to educate and inform. Give them something of value; give them a reason to stick around and keep opening those emails you’re periodically sending them.

Take the same approach with a prospect who’s looking to buy, however, and not only are you throwing money away, but you’re wasting their time and yours. High intent leads, the sort who are looking for the type of products and services that you supply, require far less effort to ease over the line. To make that conversion though, your marketing message needs to be on point and to the point, as these examples show. Whether it’s a simple price promotion or a run-down of the benefits they’ll enjoy for acquiring your flagship product, you can risk being much more direct with such prospects.

How does automation enhance the client experience? Because it eschews bombarding them with scattershot messages in favour of highly targeted messages that are relevant to the stage they’re at on the buying journey. And what’s good for the client is surely good for you.

B2B marketing automation is a goldmine of analytics

When setting up marketing automation SMB, the prime focus is on how you can gear it around the needs of the client. And rightly so. But let’s stop for a moment and think about the benefits for you, the small business. If there’s one thing you already know about email marketing, it’s that it’s easy to track and provides a wealth of useful analytics which can be used to optimise subject lines, CTAs, topics and much more. Marketing automation systems give you all that x100. Once your bank of automated content is locked and loaded, each message is a veritable goldmine of analytical data just waiting to be unlocked. After implementing B2B marketing automation software you should already notice an upturn in business, but if you can then use that treasure trove of data to identify what’s working and what’s not, you should be able to optimise and boost your conversion rates significantly.

Automation means personalisation

One of the best things about small business marketing automation is the way in which it allows you to adapt your message to match the changing needs of the customer. A prospect might initially express an interest in one particular product, but in time their evolving business model may cause another product to become more relevant. How are you supposed to know this? Because the data returned by your SMB marketing automation software tells you so, pinpointing the sort of links that the individual clicks on or the products they linger over in your store. The best marketing software for small businesses allows you to personalise your message to these prospects. Hit them with a flash sale for the product they’re interested in or a rundown of its features and benefits and – whaddya know – you’ve got yourself a customer. Automation means personalisation and personalisation is only one step away from turning speculative leads into lifelong customers.

So there you have it: three reasons why B2B marketing automation should be top of your to-do list. With step by step instructions on setting up automation, there really are no excuses. Stop prevaricating and start profiting off the greatest marketing tool you’re not using.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock – a very big rock, one big enough to block WiFi – you’ll be well aware of marketing automation software. Perhaps not aware enough to be on first name terms with your automation software supplier, but only because you’ve yet to make that step. It’s been on your list of things to do though: #15 Set up digital marketing automation, right after #14: Clean out your desk drawers. But that’s the thing about lengthy and well-intentioned to-do lists: they invariably stay that way.

Well, today we’re going to discuss a few facts that might just cause you to rethink your priorities. The messy desk drawers can wait; sure, they’re annoying but they’re not impacting upon your revenue. The failure to integrate inbound marketing automation on the other hand? Now that’s a task that’s screaming out to be done. Preferably yesterday, but failing that today. Setting it up may take a little work and brainpower, but your business is presumably brimming with marketers blessed with the time and skills to do both. Put your best talent on the case, because that’s one of the first things to know about B2B marketing automation: if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.

Marketing automation for small business – why?

Why should your business concern itself with SMB marketing automation? If the methods you’ve been using up until now have been bearing fruit, why should you meddle with a winning formula? Why should you pull key staff away from the profitable tasks they’re focused on to meddle with something that will require time and effort? Well, there are many persuasive arguments in favour of inbound marketing automation, but the most persuasive of all comes from the facts. We may be living in a ‘post-truth’ world, but there are some truths which simply can’t be spun.

80% of companies who’ve switched to online marketing automation have recorded more leads. 77% of those have reported more conversions. Businesses that adopt marketing automation software notice an upturn in revenue of between 20% and 50%. Those figures all come from a VentureBeat survey, and they’re the sorts of numbers that can’t be easily ignored.

The other reason why small businesses may be dragging their heels when it comes to B2B marketing automation is cost. There appears to be an assumption that marketing automation tools are going to be expensive; that there’s no such thing as SMB marketing automation because SMBs can’t afford it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Like cloud storage and SaaS and other enterprise solutions that were initially within the reach of corporations only, low cost marketing automation is now accessible to all. Not only is affordable marketing automation possible – it’s now the norm. Thanks to the arrival of cheap or even free marketing automation, there’s never been a better time to take the plunge and set up automated marketing sequences. But don’t do it because it’s cheap – do it for one of the following reasons.

Marketing automation enhances the client experience

Just as we are all at different stages on our passage through life, business prospects are at different stages on their buying journey. You wouldn’t present a sales pitch to a newborn baby, so why would you attempt to do the same with a new prospect? For someone who’s just visited your site for the first time, or perhaps signed up for your newsletter, it’s way too early to start closing them. The sales stuff can come later – way later. First you’ve got to educate and inform. Give them something of value; give them a reason to stick around and keep opening those emails you’re periodically sending them.

Take the same approach with a prospect who’s looking to buy, however, and not only are you throwing money away, but you’re wasting their time and yours. High intent leads, the sort who are looking for the type of products and services that you supply, require far less effort to ease over the line. To make that conversion though, your marketing message needs to be on point and to the point, as these examples show. Whether it’s a simple price promotion or a run-down of the benefits they’ll enjoy for acquiring your flagship product, you can risk being much more direct with such prospects.

How does automation enhance the client experience? Because it eschews bombarding them with scattershot messages in favour of highly targeted messages that are relevant to the stage they’re at on the buying journey. And what’s good for the client is surely good for you.

B2B marketing automation is a goldmine of analytics

When setting up marketing automation SMB, the prime focus is on how you can gear it around the needs of the client. And rightly so. But let’s stop for a moment and think about the benefits for you, the small business. If there’s one thing you already know about email marketing, it’s that it’s easy to track and provides a wealth of useful analytics which can be used to optimise subject lines, CTAs, topics and much more. Marketing automation systems give you all that x100. Once your bank of automated content is locked and loaded, each message is a veritable goldmine of analytical data just waiting to be unlocked. After implementing B2B marketing automation software you should already notice an upturn in business, but if you can then use that treasure trove of data to identify what’s working and what’s not, you should be able to optimise and boost your conversion rates significantly.

Automation means personalisation

One of the best things about small business marketing automation is the way in which it allows you to adapt your message to match the changing needs of the customer. A prospect might initially express an interest in one particular product, but in time their evolving business model may cause another product to become more relevant. How are you supposed to know this? Because the data returned by your SMB marketing automation software tells you so, pinpointing the sort of links that the individual clicks on or the products they linger over in your store. The best marketing software for small businesses allows you to personalise your message to these prospects. Hit them with a flash sale for the product they’re interested in or a rundown of its features and benefits and – whaddya know – you’ve got yourself a customer. Automation means personalisation and personalisation is only one step away from turning speculative leads into lifelong customers.

So there you have it: three reasons why B2B marketing automation should be top of your to-do list. With step by step instructions on setting up automation, there really are no excuses. Stop prevaricating and start profiting off the greatest marketing tool you’re not using.

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Increasing sales revenue (53%), lead nurturing (43%) and customer engagement (37%) are seen as the most important objectives of a marketing automation strategy. Find out more about how and why businesses are using marketing automation, and with what success.